Marion County, Van Buren win Region 3-A semifinals

Mark Dragoo called for time during the first half.

He told his Arts & Sciences players they were playing at Marion County's preferred pace and playing their style of basketball instead of the Patriots' tempo.

The Warriors continued punishing the Patriots in the second half and won 62-59 in the Region 3-A semifinals at CSAS.

"We've talked every day, before the game and during the game, that we need to play within ourselves," Marion County coach Chuck Keef said. "We've been on the edge of being good all season. This is by far the best game we've played all season."

Logan Walters scored 21 of his 23 points for Marion (19-7) in the second half. Teammate Matt Harveston also scored 23, and Logan Gonzales added 12.

The Patriots were led by 20 points from Shunn Moorer and 11 from Darius Graves in their final game of the season. CSAS ended with a 20-5 record.

"My wife is happy now," CSAS coach Mark Dragoo joked. "I'll be home for dinner now."

The Warriors will play again Thursday night. They will face Van Buren County, which beat Sale Creek 60-39 in the second semifinal. Caden Mills and Bo Walker led the Eagles (25-5) with 15 points each, and Jared Binkley scored 12 points. Preston Turner led Sale Creek (13-18) with 17.

The Warriors reached a region final for the first time since 1987 by handling the frenzied defenses CSAS uses and maintaining their composure in the fourth quarter, when they finally built a lead.

"We had some seniors on the floor and they didn't want their season to end," Keef said. "We have football players, too, and they know what it's like to play in big games and handle the pressure."

CSAS led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter and 25-21 at halftime. The Warriors took their first lead when Walters opened the second half with eight straight points. The teams were tied at 42 heading to the final stanza.

"CSAS has all the athletes and we had to play our game," Walters said. "Then we did as good as we could in the end."

Marion County never led by more than four points, and Graves tied the game at 54 with 1:34 to play. CSAS missed a 3-pointer from the right corner that would have given it the lead. Graves hit a 3 that pulled the Patriots within 58-57. But Gonzales and Walters hit four free throws in the final seven seconds.

"We hit our free throws," Harveston said. "And we stayed composed."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter @UchiyamaCTFP.

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